From today’s Irish Times

SOCIAL WORKERS believe that a mother who subjected her children to incest and serious neglect received support from “a Catholic right-wing organisation� when she got a High Court injunction in 2000 to stop the children from being placed in the care of relatives.

…Tadgh Guider, a social work team leader, said there was concern about the family but the mother became involved with “a Catholic right-wing organisationâ€? which provided her with financial support in her successful bid to get a High Court injunction. He said after this court case there was a certain amount of caution about how to approach the family.

Mr Guider said efforts would have been made to talk to the children and to neighbours in order to build up the case for getting a care order.

After a brief adjournment granted to allow health officials to get details of the High Court order, the judge was told that a voluntary arrangement had been brokered in September 2000 which would have allowed the children to be placed in the care of relatives. But then, in a “bolt from the blue� in October, the mother had gone to the High Court and got an order restraining the then Western Health Board from placing the children in the care of relatives.

Paddy Gannon, a childcare manager, said he was contacted by a woman called Mina Bean Uí Chroibín around the time of the application and she said that it was support the family needed, not intrusive action by the health board. He had no evidence that she was involved in the court application but he suspected it.

Mina Bean Ui Chribín – spelt in newspapers today is Mina Bean Uí Chroibín. or Mena Bean Ui Chribín

Where to start? Activists all over the country know her from abortion and divorce campaigns in the 1980’s, gatecrashing meetings of Irish Feminist and liberal groups including Irish Women United. She was also the principal of a Latin Mass/Tridentine/Pixie related school in Santry. One which the state tried to close down after complaints from parents (unaware of the school’s ethos) that children were being made pray excessively and wear skirts to their ankles if I remember rightly.

That name is going to ring many bells with people all over the country. I’m not sure which group or wing of the traditionalists Bean Ui Chroibín was with when she intervened in the case which was before the courts this week. More anon I would think….